Chin up! We beat London, Paris and New York! and Amsterdam and Rome!

Way to go, Ben-Gurion! Israel detractors, EAT YOUR HEART OUT! And this is no mean feat in this day and age when the world is against us and our very existence is being threatened by the forces of evil!

Our two year-old International Airport (Terminal 3 to be more specific) ranks first in Europe and fifth (or eighth, depending on category) in the world:

So I suppose we can bask in the limelight for at least one night. We can forget about politics, corruption, poverty, Syria, Iran, Hezbollah, the civil war in Gaza, the drought, James Fuck the Jews Baker, and the rest of our troubles, at least for tonight! Tomorrow we can face the music again, but here's an example to follow. Way to Go, Ben-Gurion staff!

http://www.jpost.com/servlet/Satellite?cid=1164881920231&pagename=JPost%2FJPArticle%2FShowFull

How James Fuck the Jews Baker Lined His Pockets
By Ben Caspit,
Maariv (Saturday supplement) December 15, 2006

He meddled in the Iraq quagmire (also here, here and even here) and made tens of millions of dollars, and then came up with the famous report on how the US should handle the Middle East situation. Nir Gouaz, an Israeli who spent years in the US, reveals how former Secretary of State James Baker employed his services in order to collect Iraq's debts to a major Korean conglomerate firm using a Jordanian bank and a Chinese middleman. All of this occurred despite UN-imposed sanctions on the Saddam Hussein administration. Baker's office: "The description of our role in this affair is not accurate."

James Baker himself is the reason why Nir Gouaz decided to break the silence: "Having read all the articles concerning Baker's ME vision, including the report itself, I realized there was no limit to the nerve (hutzpa) of the man chosen by the US to decide on the fate of this region."
The story itself is wonderful. Gouaz recalls how the main American media enticed him for years in order to expand on the bits and pieces of information they had managed to gather. At the time Gouaz, who was living in America, had no desire to get into trouble. Now that he is back in Cesarea, he feels the time is right to talk. His story has all the potential for a spy thriller movie script with all the required economical political and security elements: international relations, a tyrannical dictator, an angry superpower, businessmen at work in grey areas, a former high-ranking influential politician, oil and money. Lots of money.
Nir Gouaz returned to Israel two years ago, after a 15-year spell in the US. At 48 years-old, he has a wife and four children, the oldest serving as a paratrooper. Gouaz lives in a spacious villa and drives a tank-size American luxury car with all the extras. He's living the good life. Although he was occasionally associated with diamonds and arms deals in Sierra Leone, his name has been cleared both in America and Israel. He remains calm, relaxed and self-confident while recounting his story.
He had the time of his life in America. He lived in a huge estate on Fisher Island, the kind only the richest Miami crowd can afford. He made his money from important international business deals, mainly rescue and debt-collecting operations. He was asked to intervene when huge business operations were being blocked by problem states and he always succeeded in closing the deal - for a fee, of course – sort of a "persuader". He started out in the Israeli Secret Service Security Division, then he was involved in security issues. His personal charisma earned him important contacts.
In August 1998, he received a phone call from Jeffrey Stonerock, senior partner of the Baker Botts law firm, the American legal empire headed by former Secretary of State James Baker. This international business law firm employs hundreds of lawyers in offices all over the world.
"We have a big business deal for you", said Stonerock to Gouaz, "it's a very delicate matter only you can handle. Get on the first plane, please".

A private meeting with Baker
Gouaz was living in Miami at the time. The private jet that took him to Washington, DC landed at an executive only airport. The limo waiting for him drove him straight to Baker's office - 1299 Pennsylvania Avenue. Stonerock greeted him:"Come, the boss wants to talk to you". A few minutes later he was seated in James Baker's private office for a tête à tête meeting with James Baker.
"The deal in question is highly confidential", said Baker, "and we know you are a very discreet. I would like to introduce you to someone who will explain the whole thing to you." A Chinese gentleman stepped into the room and introduced himself as Do Sen Shey, a representative of CPC, an international business firm (Fortune-affiliated, apparently).
Shey told Gouaz he was well-connected in Korea and proceeded to show Gouaz a thick-bellied manila file: Hyundai's large civil engineering division had been working on vast infrastructure projects in Iraq for the past ten years. The Iraqi government had agreed on payment of over $ 800 million for the projects, in the form of government bonds, to be cashed at later dates. However, as soon as the First Gulf War broke out in 1991, the Iraqis had suspended all payments to suppliers, and Hyundai was stuck with worthless IOU's that the Iraqis refused to redeem.
Shay went on to tell Gouaz that due to interest rates and delayed payments, the outstanding debt was in excess of $ 1 billion. Which meant the collapse of the entire Hyundai Concern unless the debt was settled. Baker and Shey explained to Gouaz that unless a solution was found quickly, Hyundai was doomed. Shey revealed that Hyundai was willing to conduct indirect negotiations with the Iraqis in order to collect at least part of the debt. However, there was a catch: the world had imposed sanctions on Iraq, and the Security Council allowed trade with Iraq only under the famous oil-for-food program, which allowed for limited Iraqi oil exports (US-supervised) in exchange for food and medicine. No cash transactions were allowed.
What to do? Shey then told Gouaz that Baker's law office was the only law firm empowerment by Hyundai to conduct negotiations on its behalf. "Find us a buyer for the Iraqi bonds", was the Koreans' demand. Why Gouaz? "Firstly", he says, "because they were aware of my discreet and professional record. Secondly, I was not an American national. An American national cannot engage in bypassing a Security Council sanctions resolution. James Baker's involvement has very significant implications."
Gouaz went on to stress that the aforementioned meeting took place in Baker's private office and that he was present during the initial stages. Even after Baker had left the room, Shey and Gouaz remained seated in the sumptuous office. Gouaz wanted time to think things over. He also wanted photocopies of all the uncashed bonds, which were mailed to his home in Miami: the outstanding debt was indeed $ 830 million. Then he came up with a simple solution: only Jordan, Iraq's neighbor could provide the necessary services.
Then he phoned Jeffrey Stonerock to enquire whether Baker's office had any contacts in Jordan. "I need meetings at the highest levels", demanded Gouaz. "I need someone to open doors for me. Once they are open, I can go in and deliver the goods". "You got it", replied Stonerock. It turned out that the self-confidence of Baker's men was justified. Some time later, Gouaz was invited to meet Shakir Taufik Fakouri, president of The Bank of Jordan.
The meeting took place at the Hyatt Hotel in Jerusalem, in early 1999. Fakouri, who had no clue as to the subject of the meeting, was very courteous. Gouaz offered him the deal of a lifetime: buy Iraqi government IOU's at a great discount (around 30% of their actual value), and sell them back to the Iraqi government for oil, at great profit. All parties win: Hyundai escapes bankruptcy, the Jordanians make about 20% of the sum assuming that the Iraqis agree to provide oil in exchange for half the bonds, the Iraqi government settles a heavy debt that will allow Hyundai to continue work on Iraqi infrastructure projects. In addition, seizure will be lifted off Iraqi assets around the world.

Money flowed and so did oil
From there on in things cascaded rapidly. A meeting was scheduled with Hyundai Civil Engineering representatives in Hong-Kong (that's where their home office was located). The meeting was attended by Gouaz, Do Sen Shey, and a Bank of Jordan team. At the same time, Fakouri was meeting Tareq Aziz, the Iraqi Minister of Foreign Affairs at the time, who held the price for which the Iraqis would redeem the government bonds.
Gaps were being bridged, but Aziz still had one condition: the oil-for-food was a good option, the deal, but the amount of oil for export would have to be increased. Fakouri went back with the news about the increased oil quota. Gouaz briefed Baker and his people about the Iraqi demands. Then, in August 1999, the Iraqi oil export quota was indeed increased. Tarek Aziz contacted with Fakouri to give him the go ahead for the deal.
Thus, with the assistance of Baker's law firm, the Jordanians bought the Iraqi government bonds off Hyundai for $ 272 million, while Gouaz and Do Sen Shey served as mediators. The bonds were then sold to the Iraqis for $ 450 million worth of oil. The Bank of Jordan netted a handsome net profit, while Baker and Botts' fee was no less than $33 million, in Gouaz's estimate. Gouaz himself admits that he also earned a nice commission.
The deal was completed in July 2000. Everyone flew to Hong-Kong to meet at the Peninsula Hotel where they signed the agreement. Hyundai Vice-President, Su-Kuang Min, who made an appearance at the final meeting, wrote Gouaz a very emotional letter of appreciation. Gouaz knows for a fact that Baker flew to Korea a few weeks later to collect his fee.
At the time, Gouaz recalls, the entire affair began to surface and the American media was showing increased interest, so Stonerock was forced to admit to a certain involvement in the negotiations.
In November 2001, two months after the WTC attack, Stonerock called Gouaz again. "Listen", he said, "you've got to destroy all documents pertaining to that deal. And we'd like you to sign our confidentiality agreement forms again."
Gouaz was cautious: "Some of the documents have been destroyed, while others are being kept in a safe location." He never signed the confidentiality forms. "I destroyed whatever needed to be destroyed", he reassured Stonerock. "But I'm keeping whatever does not need to be destroyed".
He never heard from Baker's people again. But he began to get into trouble: IRS investigations and all kinds of uncomfortable strange little things. The Hyundai deal or the Iraqi bonds were never mentioned, but Gouaz felt that his troubles were somehow connected to that deal.
In 2004 Gouaz decided to return to Israel. He has stayed silent since then. But now he needs to break the silence. This is obviously his side of the story. It is straightforward and detailed. It is also supported by documents, photographs and tapes.
As to Baker's law firm, here's Jeffrey Stonerock's statement: "Our professional ethics and client confidentiality policy prevent us from discussing our clients' affairs, yet we can confirm that Baker-Botts has never served as a mediator or provided significant legal counsel in the transaction mentioned in your letter. Your description of the role played by our firm and our connection with Mr. Nir Gouaz in 2001 is not accurate. If you have any documents that might indicate otherwise, please forward us relevant photocopies so that we can reply accordingly." (this is the general idea, since I am translating from Hebrew). James Baker has not provided a direct response so far.
What can we learn from this affair? In Gouaz' words: "When the US was spearheading the international sanctions on Iraq, the law firm of a former Secretary of State closed a super deal involving a billion dollar's worth of Iraqi government bonds at a great discount. I was personally chosen to act as mediator between buyer and seller and my commission was paid by Baker's Washington DC law office. I was designated for the job because I was not a US national, and because I was personally acquainted with highest level ME officials. I am willing to lay the cards on the table at this time, in order to reveal what hides behind Mr. Baker's vision and plans. Bottom line? It's all about the money."

(I translated this article from Hebrew, sorry for the incongruences).

Viagra in the Service of the Hezbollah

By Amit Cohen
Maariv, December 8, 2006


Ten facts on the green fuel that sets the wheels of terror in motion. Millions of dollars' worth of stolen medicine and contraband cigarettes sold in America. A lucrative industry of abducting people for ransom. Banks that can do nothing about it.

1. This scenario has become almost routine in Gaza: gunmen or unmarked vehicles ambush passing cars, preferably with foreign nationals inside. The unsuspecting passengers are then dragged out of their car at gunpoint and driven to secret locations. The abduction is carried out in a couple of minutes and is over in several days. So far no Gaza abduction has resulted in bloodshed, for one reason only: it is business. The rationale behind snatching foreign nationals is purely financial: ransom, extortion or employment opportunities. It is very difficult to try and estimate how much money found its way into the Palestinian terror business coffers thanks to the practice of abduction, since all the abductees deny having ever paid for their freedom - e.g., Spanish Foreign Secretary Miguel Moratinos denies having paid any kind of ransom for the release of abducted Spanish AP photographer Emilio Morenatti.
2. We got some kind of clue as to the sums paid for the release of foreign nationals this last August, when Fox journalists Steve Centanni and Olaf Wiig were detained by a group calling itself "Holy Jihad Group" that threatened to execute the two hostages and even forced them to convert to Islam in front of the cameras. When they were freed 13 days later, there were allegations that Fox News had paid $2 million for their release. But not according to Gaza officials, who claim that $200,000 had been the price of their freedom, and that the tab was picked up by Hamas. According to Palestinian sources, the man behind the abduction was
Muataz Durmush and here, head of National Resistance Front branch. The Durmush clan is considered one of the most dangerous in Gaza and is in fact closely connected to Hamas. Mumtaz Durmush, Muataz' brother, is the one who snatched IDF corporal Gilad Shalit and here together with Hamas. Muataz Durmush's branch, as well as other branches, receives monthly funding from Hamas for their supporting the organization or for carrying out attacks on its behalf. However, at some stage, Hamas decided to cut Muataz' funding. This angered Muataz, who abducted the two Fox journalists and threatened to kill them in order to "embarrass" and compromise Hamas in the eyes of public opinion. Following lengthy negotiations, Hamas gave in and paid Durmush the requested ransom, as per the monthly budget received until the abduction.
3. Taking hostages for ransom has also become the favorite source of funding for terrorist organizations operating in Iraq. This article published by the New York Times reveals that foreign governments, such as France and Italy, paid Iraqi terrorists over $ 30 million for the release of their abducted nationals during the last year alone. The document also reveals that last year terrorist operations succeeded in raising $ 70-200 million dollars. The money was made by means of extensive criminal operations such as smuggling oil, counterfeiting money and fund-raising through fictitious charities. But even these sums appear somewhat conservative versus the estimations of the Iraqi Oil Ministry. According to figures released by the Iraqi government, the local terror groups managed to raise $ 200 million by oil-smuggling alone.



4. Terror-funding in Iraq has changed significantly since the beginning of the Second Gulf War. During the first year of the hostilities terror was funded by Saddam loyalists. But in 2004 foreign couriers began bringing suitcases full of cash into Iraq. Currently, Iraqi terrorists can sustain themselves without any kind of foreign assistance. This financial independence makes it very difficult to put and end to terrorism or to attempt to cut its financial lifeline. These huge cash stashes go to show how extremely difficult it is for the US administration to deal with terror in Iraq, and they also explain the current Iraqi government failure to freeze the money flow into the insurgents' coffers. Estimates go so far as to suggest that if nothing changes, the insurgents will not only be able to fund their own operations in Iraq, but also to extend financial support to terrorist organizations worldwide.
5. Despite Iranian funding, Hezbollah also resorts to criminal activities to increase its budget – 19 people were brought to trial in the US this year for fundraising on behalf of the Hezbollah by means of illegal activities such as selling stolen Viagra pills and smuggled cigarettes, extortion, theft and money laundering to the tune of over $ 20 million.
6. Following 9/11 the White House decided that terrorist organizations, mainly Al-Qaeda, should be separated from their cash sources, assuming that if there is no money, there will be no terror. But reality backfired. Blocking money channels proved impossible, while the destruction of several financial routes brought about a change in the modus operandi. True, the annual Al-Qaeda budget was cut down from $ 30 million to a mere couple million, but at the same time the cost of terror activities also went down significantly. The 9/11 attack cost half a million dollars, while the Madrid and London cost a mere few thousand dollars. This forced the US intelligence services to re-evaluate their priorities. US officials are now admitting that the main goal is not to divert the terror funds, but rather to follow the money trail in order to identify and locate terror infrastructures. A US official report maintains that freezing assets is not the only or most important objective of monitoring the money trail; it is a means of identifying terrorists or their supporters, and has become instrumental in the war against terror groups.
7. "This is a cat and mouse game", says Yair Dagan, a specialist in the prevention of money laundering and terror sponsoring. "We are always one step behind the terrorists. Attempts to thwart terrorist funding are bound to fail, much like the battle against crime. Terror organizations are beginning to employ financing patterns similar to those used by organized crime." Dagan also maintains that the banking system is unable to cope with this trend. However, he claims, the intelligence community is more apt do deal with it if they turn to non-banking areas." He is worried that Israel cannot keep up with what is going on in the world at large. "The Israeli law prohibiting terror funding compels financial organizations to check all transactions with the Ministry of Defense black list, which is incomplete, to say the least, and full of typos, and this makes it very difficult for the checkers to pinpoint suspects. For instance, the Al-Aksa fund set up by the Hamas appears only once on the Israeli blacklist, while on the US list it is mentioned over 180 times."
8. The US administration has recently admitted that the special powers it enjoyed in the first stages of the war waged against terror are beginning to wear out. The war on terror was authorized mainly by a special executive order issued a few days after 9/11, which placed the crackdown on terror funds at the top of the priority list. At the time, President Bush promised to "starve the terrorists of funding, turn them against each other, rout them out of their safe hiding places and bring them to justice." But last month, for the first time since the order was issued, a federal judge ruled to limit the President's authority. Judge Audrey Collins overruled the President's decision to freeze the assets of two organizations defined as "terrorist" – the Tamil Tigers and the PKK. The judge cancelled the executive order allowing the US Treasury the privilege to blacklist suspected terror sponsors.
9. Banks are most likely the ones to suffer because of terror funding. The Royal Bank of Scotland was sued recently for managing a Hamas-linked charity. Previously, American terror attack victims sued French Credit Lyonnais for Hamas funds funneling. A huge $ 875 million dollar suit was filed against the Arab Bank by families of suicide bombings victims. Such suits are a serious threat to banks. Since these are civil suits, the prosecution does not need to prove that the bank actually knew about the terror connection, all it needs is to make the jury think so. In fact, this suspicion acts as indirect aid to terror sponsors. Banks unwilling to risk being associated with terrorist assets flood the system with tens of millions of reports, which make it very difficult to pinpoint the real blood money.
10. Attempt by banks to freeze automatically charity funds suspected of being connected to terrorist organizations are facing judiciary difficulties. A Michigan-based Moslem charity an American bank for violation of its civic rights, because the bank was planning to shut down the accounts of the organization in the wake of an FBI raid of its premises and haul of documents and computers form its offices (and here).

The Supreme Court Rules Supreme

A very heated debate is going on these days in Israel - I mean besides whether to allow Haniyeh back into Gaza or not (he's been let in as we speak), with or without the blood money donated by the ex-executioner turned president in Iran (apparently the 35 USD million in cash will be deposited into Arab League accounts with Egypt promising not to funnel it into for weapons and ammo deals), besides who's responsible for the defeat/victory in Lebanon (depending on how you look at it), whether we do or do not have nuclear weapons, and all the other life-and-death issues - and this debate concerns the Supreme Court rulings and their implications.
I have translated the article below for my English-speaking visitors, as it has only appeared in the Hebrew newspaper Maariv. It was published in response to the Supreme Court ruling to allow Palestinians to claim compensation for intifada-related damages. That is they can kill and blow us up at will, but if a soldier so much as fires a rubber bullet into the air and the Palestinian's donkey shies, well then you better come up with the money, you damn bastard mother-f***ing genocidal child murdering oppressive occupier!
You can also follow the links to the ruling and several other opinions (yes, I am also including the pro's, if only to show
how idiotically, insanely suicidal we have become, as the same "enlightened" Supreme Court judges rejected a petition to deal with Israel's own poor !!!)

Democracy is dying
By Ben Dror Yemini,
Maariv, December 13, 2006

The question is not whether the bill cancelled yesterday is right or wrong. This has already been debated and settled. And I may well have opposed this bill. The Knesset knew that this bill was not in line with the Basic Laws. Except that being out of line on this issue is the norm in civilized, democratic Canada, where the bill concerning this same issue is even more encompassing, as it grants the state full immunity even when peace time non-combat military operations are concerned.
Not that the Supreme Court judges are unaware of the Canadian counterpart. No, they are quite familiar with it, as they quote it in their ruling. But what holds true in Canada during peace time, even though nothing threatens Canada's very existence, where no terrorist actions are being launched from hostile civilian centers, does not hold true in Israel. Or at least that's what our Supreme Court judges believe.
Therefore, the real question is – what else must happen for the Knesset to restore its sovereignty? The Knesset makes our laws and one may and should argue about them. But then along comes the Supreme Court and says screw the Knesset. During the first class I attended in Law School, the lecturer explained that we need judges so that "the arbitrary majority of the law-makers does not infringe on the redheads' rights." Good! Except that no legislative body has adopted such idiotic bills so far. If they ever do, no court will ever be able to stop them, as US Justice Learned Hand put it. And anyway, the accumulating experience shows that there are more dubious, erroneous and stupid court rulings than wrong parliamentary decisions. Therefore the advantage of the judiciary over the legislature is pure legend.
One of the most idiotic American Court rulings dating from the mid 18th century, stated that a negro is an object with no rights. Thus the judges overruled the much more enlightened lawmakers' decision. In the wake of this court ruling, the American Civil War broke out. Slavery was eventually abolished, despite the Court's ruling, but the price was rivers of human blood. So please, no more brainwashing us on the issue of the judges' superiority!
Yesterday's Supreme Court ruling is not nearly as idiotic as the American one. If Barak (Aharon Barak, President of the Israeli Supreme Court) were a politician, who knows, I might have voted for him. But with all due respect, we are not being ruled by philosophers in Plato's republic. We are living in a democratic state. The bill preventing compensation payments for those who sustained damages in intifada operations, as much as I might disagree with it, should not be cancelled. When a nine judge panel unanimously recite Meretz texts we are in deep trouble. Because when they start canceling one law after another, we no longer need a democratic regime, we no longer need a Knesset and we no longer need elections. The Supreme Court will rule instead.
The Knesset must make a stand. There is no such thing as "a bill bypassing the Supreme Court." Instead, we have a Supreme Court bypassing bill after bill. Not because the law denies the redheads their right to vote, but because of the judiciary principles at work in democratic societies. Therefore, in order to put an end to this kind of trampling on the law, there is no choice but to cancel the Supreme Court authority. If the Knesset fails to make a stand on this issue, we can forget about our democracy. Democracy will become the Supreme Court's private dominion.

High Court: PA residents eligible for compensation
MK Elon: High Court one of Israel's existential problems
Bereaved father: Now we can sue IDF murderers
MK: High Court criminal, must be constrained
Time to pay for mistakes
Intifada law controversy
High Court shuns Knesset

And, boy, do I love this one - I didn't realize Indians and Israelis had so much in common - mea culpa! Except the medical profession in Israel is still mostly uncorrupted.

"Is justice blind or blindfolded?
The icon of justice can be seen in all the courts from the High Court to the Supreme Court. It is blindfolded. This means that equal justice should be given to everybody irrespective of caste, creed or colour. But now, the judges, government doctors and even the police are corrupt. We became free from the British, but now we have to become free from our own politicians. It is in our hands to make justice work. (In our case it's the Supreme Court judges we have to free ourselves from).
Saishyam M, X Hosur: Sishya School"

A Palestinian synagogue?

Synagogue of ancient Jewish town uncovered

Nadav Man, Bitmuna
Published: 09.30.06

Work to build army post uncovers impressive tile floor, leading to a discovery of a third-century synagogue and town near Maoz Haim (below, in 1943. The kibbutz was founded in 1937, in the Beit-Shean Valley close to the Jordanian border. Huh? Prior to the creation of the State of Israel - apparently, contrary to popular belief, Jews had established a presence prior to 1948. Good grief! Where is the public outcry? Where are the protesting dispossessed Arabs?)

As a matter of fact, these emerging settlements were coming under constant attack from marauding Arab gangs, that is why the inhabitants were to keep watch at all times. Thus the watch towers of Maoz Haim (to the right) and Hanita (below, 1938). These kibbutzim were founded during the British Mandate, by "sabras" Israeli-born Jews (Good grief, once again, wot? not all Jewish residents got here AFTER 1948? Well, apparently NOT). Anyways, this campaign took place between 1936-1939 and was known under the name of Stockade and Tower, and it was carried out by the Hamahanot Haolim movement, a youth movement founded in 1926 - a bit of a headache there for anti-Zionists claiming there was no significant Jewish activity prior to the Declaration of Independence.

The secrets of an ancient synagogue, dating from around the 3rd to 6th century CE, were discovered completely by accident near Kibbutz Maoz Haim. In 1974, during construction work on an army post west of the kibbutz, Avshalom Yaakovi (right, undated picture), a founder of the kibbutz and specialist on the Land of Israel, discerned a mosaic floor, partly buried under the dirt, depicting what looked to him like a menora (traditional Jewish candelabra).

Such as the one appearing on the Arch of Titus, in Rome, Italy. Was this Roman Emperor a Zionist conspirator as well?
The seven-branched candelabra was but a fraction of the exquisite mosaic floor exposed by Avshalom who used his hands literally to remove the soil and dirt covering the find. Construction work was stopped, and the Antiquities Authority arrived at the kibbutz. Excavations uncoverd an ancient synagogue.
Underneath a the remains of a Bedouin cemetery, built on the ruins of an old Arab village, a Jewish town from the third century was found. The synagogue, constructed during the latter part of the century, served the Jewish community there for over 300 years, and was destroyed, along with the rest of the the town, in a large fire which broke out during the Arab occupation of the land. According to signs found in the area, the Jewish town was called Bala, and the Bedouins too kept that name.

The synagogue was constructed during three periods. It was first built as a simple structure, and as circumstances improved in the Jewish community, the synagogue was renovated in the basilica style. It faced Jerusalem, and a wonderful mosaic floor including images of a bird, grapes, and a yellow fruit (apparently a citron) are displayed:

Credit should also be given to this 19th century New York Apollo watering can (detail, below) presented to Asvhalom by a worker of the Yaffo Stein Company that operated in Eretz Israel prior to World War One. It was one of the tools used by Avshalom to hand-dig the site.


Also found at the dig: part of the tiled roof

and this elaborately crafted object:

Beit-Hanoun

("rocket science" has become THE "cottage industry" of Gaza)

(Hamas terrorists use UN vehicles to ferry rockets from the factories to the launching sites. There they kneel and pray to their murderous deity that the rockets might kill innocent Israelis. These cowardly brutes never reveal their ugly unshaven faces - always hiding behind ski-masks. The UN must be in bed with them, because you never hear Kofi condemning the use of these vehicles in terrorist operations. But did he ever condemn the use of UN vehicles when our three soldiers were kidnapped and murdered in Lebanon back in the year 2000?)

The price of the Qassams
By Ben Caspit, Maariv, November 11, 2006

Someone must tell the truth. Someone must tell it like it is to the inhabitants of Beit-Hanoun, to the civilians of the Gaza Strip, to the Israeli Arabs, to the entire world. The one simple, punching truth: whoever fires thousands of Qassam rockets into civilian centers for years, whoever stocks up on tons of explosives, weapons and katyusha rockets for months, whoever rains terror and horror over an entire country without any apparent reason, must get it through their heads that they cannot simply hide behind women and children. This kind of behavior carries a price tag.

Every state on this planet has the obligation to protect its citizens. Israel's actions in Gaza are moderate, humane, and moral, much more so than the actions of the US, UK or Russian troops would be in case terrorists were lobbing rockets into Texas, Coventry or Moscow. This is not a theoretical assumption. This is an historical fact, whose consequences are buried in the remains of Grozny, in the ruins of Afghan villages, Iraqi cities and towns, or Dresden during WWII. If we were to examine less enlightened regimes, such as those in the Arab world, the results would be a lot worse.

But guess what, Israel is the only one getting grilled. We are the ones hollered at. Being Jewish is difficult. Living itself is difficult, not to mention self-defense. We have to justify our actions more than anyone else in the world. It shouldn't bother us, though. That is why, although deeply sorry, as any human being should be at the sight of the Beit-Hanoun victims, we must not refrain from telling the truth. And the truth is that as long as Qassams are being launched into Israel, Israel must return fire.

They shoot to kill women and children. We do not. Ever. But when residential neighborhoods become launching pads, it is very difficult to avoid mishaps or technical errors. Which is why, in view of what happened in Beit-Hanoun last night, I would like to reiterate, out loud for the whole world to hear, looking into everyone's eyes, that it's like this: as long as Sderot cannot live in peace, Gaza will not live in peace. You shoot rockets, we fire shells. Shame when one of them goes astray, it's bad, it is a catastrophe, but that's the way it is. Every other option has been tried and failed. When in Rome do as the Romans do: when facing murderous terror perpetrated by a bloodthirsty enemy who wishes to wipe you off the Earth, you have no option but to eliminate him.

Last night, while Col. Yossi Galant, the Southern Command Chief, was being interviewed on Channel 2, a Qassam rocket landed next to the children's quarters in Kibbutz Kfar Gaza (South of Ashkelon). Yesterday morning, Rubhi Rantisi, a Hamas representative, was fuming in an interview on Army Radio: "Do you expect the Arabs to sit idly by?" No, dear Rubhi, we do not expect the Arabs to sit idly by now. We expected the Arabs to sit idly by in the wake of the Gaza pullout. When Israel displaced thousands of its citizens and turned them into refugees, having spent billions and hanging on the brink of civil war in order to perform a complete disengagement from Gaza, behind the international border, and abandoning even the Philadelphi Route. Yes, we were stupid enough to believe that at least now, at least in Gaza, you might sit idly for a while. Instead, we were rewarded with intensified barrages of "improved" Qassams, tons of explosives and Hamas takeover. While another Hamas top man, Ghazi Hamad, was bragging on the radio "Now we have to wipe Israel off the map".

Lovely, good morning, everyone. This was declared in the Hamas charter long before the Beit-Hanoun incident, Mr. Hamid. That is your Bible, that is your belief, that is what you have been trying to do ever since we left Gaza, ever since Ariel Sharon's "pilot", reciprocated by tens of tunnels packed with ammunition and IED (improvised explosive devices). Ghazi Hamad was followed by an Israeli commentator who announced that "Now, following this tragic event, the Israeli-hatred in Gaza is sky-rocketing." Oh, dear!" What exactly was there in Gaza BEFORE this tragic event? Was Gaza overflowing with burning love for Zionists and Jews? These are the people whom we left alone over a year ago, we "got out of their hair", set them free. They could have created a model of rehabilitation, co-existence, peace. If only they had invested one hundredth of their murderous energy into giving the refugee camps a facelift. A tenth of the money they invest in terror could have gone into setting up new residential neighborhoods. They could have shown the whole world – look, Israel is out, has retreated beyond its international border, we have reached a solution and we can live in peace. They could have justifeid our retreat from the West Bank as well.

(rockets found in a private residence in Nablus, West Bank)

Instead, they charged us with rabid terror. They are not attacking the 1967 borders, they want the 1948 borders. They do not challenge the occupation; they do not struggle against the oppression. They want to completely uproot us from here; they want to wipe us off the face of the earth. But guess what, we are not that eager to let that happen.

On the eve of the Beit-Hanoun incident I saw Slieman Al-Shafee (the energetic channel 2 correspondent) interviewing an Islamic Jihad activist who was bragging in front of the cameras that they had developed a new rocket, one that was presently going to land in Sderot's commercial center or next to the children's dorm in Kfar Gaza (if not on top of it actually). I hear someone say – "let's talk to them, let's resume negotiations". But then one grasps the horror, the madness, the hatred, and one asks oneself – what is there to talk about? Ending the occupation in Gaza, perhaps? Shall we offer to retreat and allow them to rebuild their lives, let the spirits chill, separate the demons? But then we remember that we've done that already.

(These are rocket-launching sites targeted by the IDF: Beit-Hanoun, Beit-Lahiya, Sheich-Ziyad, Al-Atatrah, Shuhada Cemetery, Giv'at Oranim, Officers Quarters - this last location was built to provide lodgings for Palestinian security officers).

(Here are rocket attacks recorded in just one week prior to Gaza disengagement: Sha'ar ha-Negev Industrial Park - 1 Qassam, Sderot - 13 Qassams, Netiv ha-Assarah - 1 Qassam, Elei-Sinai - 1 Qassam, 1 mortar, Nissanit - 3 mortars, Gadid - 4 mortars.)

We're out of Gaza. We've retreated. We've negotiated. But it didn't do any good. They are still firing rockets, they are still snatching soldiers in cross-border (international border) attacks. And they are still hiding behind their women and children. But this equation has to be broken. Just as everybody over in Lebanon knows that whoever piles up rockets in their homes might actually get hit by a missile or a shell, so must every Arab mom in Gaza face the reality that she cannot sleep safely at night anywhere in Gaza if the Sderot children cannot sleep safely at night. Whence rockets are launched, shells will fall. Following the disengagement about one thousand Qassam rockets have been fired at us. Which is why we must brace ourselves and carry on. All they have to do, if they want their peace and quiet, is to stop the rockets. Until then there will be no peace and quiet for them, and such mishaps are bound to recur. Yesterday, someone by the name of Rafi Eitan managed to squeeze in among the radio updates pouring in from Beit-Hanoun, and recounted the story of how he captured Eichmann 46 years ago. It appears that Eichmanns don’t die, they reincarnate and need to be recaptured.

I translated this article from Hebrew for the benefit of my non-Hebrew speaking friends who pop in every now and then, because I think it illustrates perfectly what most Israelis feel and think nowadays. However sorry we may be for the loss of life in Beit-Hanoun (which was accidental, although there are serious allegations of foul-play, no wonder the Arabs themselves call it Qana, and therefore I shall address it separately), we must never forget our own victims, who were targeted on purpose:

This is where little Afik Zahavi-Ohaion (below, with his mother, Ruthie) was killed on his way to his kindergarten.

This beautiful 17-year-old girl, Ella (Ayala Abouksiss), sustained fatal head injuries when she shielded her younger brother, Tamir, featured here below.

According to Palestinian (and their blind supporters') logic, all of these heinous crimes are perpetrated (and largely applauded by the international community free-falling for the Palestinian lies and distortion of the English language and international laws- where is the UN condemning violence against defenseless Israeli civilians; where is the UNICEF when Jewish/Israeli children, toddlers, babies, are shamelessly and ruthlessly slain?) under the pretext that they are "war criminals" and "occupiers". Except these children are not targeted because they are war criminals, they are targeted and killed only because they are Jewish and living in Israel.

And the latest Palestinian craze is that the Jews have no legal claim to Jerusalem or to the Land of Israel. I wonder where they (and also their supporters in Europe, America and Canada) learnt their history and why they think the Romans, having taken Jerusalem and ransacked Herod's Temple (in the year 70 AD), first called the province Judea Capta and even minted coins with that inscription. The term Palestina was given 65 years later, as token of ultimate humiliation and insult to the Jews who were constantly challenging Roman authority. It couldn't be that the Arabs were calling themselves Israelites, Jews or anything like that back then, and then suddenly, such as e.g. when Islam was invented in the 7th century AD, decided to call themselves something else, such as Arabs, and Palestinians even later, perhaps in the 1960's. And how the world cheers for them...

It has just struck me that the Palestinians claim to be descendants of those ancient Philistines. Perhaps. Interesting to note, though, that those ancient Philistines were not semitic, whereas Jews and Arabs are very much descendants of Noah's sons...